Not a name that would well-known, or known at all, in Ireland, Lord Sumption, with his title of Lord, is likely to be given short shrift as a credible commentator on the world, on Brexit, on Covid-19, or even the rule of law. Titles of peerage tend to induce a guttural reaction in Ireland […]
The legislation which permits lockdowns was set to expire on 9th November last, but the Oireachtas extended it. It is expected the government will push for it to be extended yet again, beyond the current expiry date of 9th June. That should not happen. The legislation is Part 3 of the Health (Preservation and Protection […]
A report by The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has shown that during the period from 7 September 2020 to 26 March 2021, it received a total of 2,352 phone calls and e-mails requesting information and/or complaint forms. This represents a substantial increase on the 1,271 emails and phone calls received during the previous […]
On 6 June 2018, the Government, headed up by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar approved the first steps in the process that would lead to publication of the General Scheme of the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill. The main intention of this Bill would be “to manage the risk posed by sex offenders and to prevent further […]
The polyamory world is abuzz with excitement. Next Tuesday sees the release ofThree Dads and a Baby, a memoir about three gay guys in San Diego decided to begin a family. Dr Ian Jenkins, a doctor and the author, Jeremy Hodges, a zoo-keeper, and Dr Alan Mayfield, a psychiatrist, regard themselves as just your average, […]
In February of last year, The Babylon Bee published a satire story titled, “California Bill Prohibits Stores From Selling Toys That Don’t Actively Confuse Children’s Sexuality.” The Bee noted: “The law will ensure no more anti-science ‘boy aisles’ or ‘girl aisles’ like the ones used in deplorable states. Now shoppers can search the entire store before finding the gender nonconforming toy […]
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, as reported on this forum, argued that quarantining travellers upon arrival in Ireland would be ‘disproportionate’, because people already living here who test positive for Covid-19 do not have to quarantine. He also argued that it would go against the European Union’s strict rules on allowing freedom of movement and open borders […]
Tasmania, Australia’s smallest state, like many other jurisdictions, is currently considering legalising voluntary assisted dying (VAD). It is of great concern that legislators are seeking to incorporate this into palliative and medical care. Voluntary assisted dying sounds like a description of what should be occurring in normal medical practice: clinicians recognising those who are dying […]
Constitutional questions are unlikely to be uppermost in our minds now, when we feel concerned both about those most vulnerable to Covid-19 and about those most severely affected by past and present measures responding to it. In terms of the collateral damage caused by those measures, we think of things like physical and mental health, […]
The death at 87 of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has added another dimension to the final weeks of the Presidential election in that country. The liberal media’s pot stirring over possible legal challenges if the vote does not go their way has begun. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has already said […]
A new law passed in the North-Western Nigerian state of Kaduna will mean that men convicted of rape will face castration and a life sentence in prison, while anyone molesting child under the age of 14 will face the death penalty. Women who molest children over 14 will reportedly have their fallopian tubes removed. The […]
“If you are a pauper, yes. If you are a millionaire, yes. But if you are a middle-class person on a middle-class salary, litigation in the High Court is ruinous.” These were the words of Mr Justice Kelly as he assumed the chairmanship of the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice in 2018. He […]